


Missing Pieces

by MK_Yujji



Series: Dragon Soul [1]
Category: Beast - Fandom, K-pop
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-23
Updated: 2011-10-23
Packaged: 2017-10-24 21:44:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/268213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MK_Yujji/pseuds/MK_Yujji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>All his life, he knew there was something missing.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing Pieces

~*~*~

From the moment he could form coherent, conscious thought, Yang Yoseob had been aware of the yawning emptiness inside him. He hadn’t known how to describe it or what it meant, just that it was there and he didn’t like it. He'd cried himself to sleep more nights than not as a child, desperately clutching a pillow to his chest and knowing it wasn’t actually helping.

His parents had feared for him because what child could really handle such sorrow and pain and still grow up into a healthy, happy adult? He hated the sadness and worry that he caused them almost as much as he hated the emptiness.

He learned to tamp down on the empty incompleteness in his heart and soul as best he could and live his life through it.

There wasn't anything else to be done, after all.

Until the dragon elders heard of Yoseob’s story.

 

~*~*~

The first time Yoseob stood before the dragon elders, he was eight years old. He was the youngest human ever summoned to their temple and he knew that he should have been afraid.

His parents had argued long and hard about whether to allow him to venture into the temple and the presence of the great dragons or whether they should take their son and slip away into the night. The urge to run and hide away from the ancients’ attentions had been strong. Likely, his parents would have succumbed to it had he not stumbled into their argument that night looking for a glass of water. They’d looked into their son’s sleepy, too-old eyes and been reminded of the pain he tried so hard to keep from them.

Hope that the dragon elders might be able to cure his ailment was slim, but it was better than no hope at all.

And as Yoseob stood before them, curious and awed, he was not afraid.

A new feeling burned in his chest as he watched the four humans who stood with the five dragon.

He only had the vaguest notions of what they were. Tales ran rampant through the villages about the humans who bonded with dragons, but it was hard to know what was true and what was made up. Once a human bonded to a dragon, they left their human homes and were seldom seen or heard from again except in this capacity - when someone was summoned to the temple.

The unbonded dragon flew over and circled him a few times, sniffing curiously and making Yoseob twitch away as watery snot flew at him.

His nose scrunched a little.

“Eww,” he muttered, mostly under his breath but easily audible to the dragons present.

With a huff of amusement - that sent even more of the slimy substance spraying over the boy, who squeaked and quickly covered his face with his arms - the dragon shifted. When Yoseob took another cautious glance, the face peering into his own was more or less human.

“Forgive me, little one. I had to know…” The dragon sighed and shook his head. “You are not the one meant for me.” He smiled a soft, sad smile and ruffled Yoseob’s hair. “But the call is strong within you. Have you heard tales of the Flight of Fledglings?”

Yoseob tried to be discreet as he wiped his arms on his shirt. “It’s when people get to meet dragons and maybe get chosen by them.”

He didn’t think it would be a good idea to add the rest of the story as he knew it - about how the humans chosen got taken off to the mountains and eaten or fed to hatchlings. That part had never made sense to him. Why would humans keep going if they were being eaten?

There was a snort from one of the humans standing with the other dragons, but the one beside Yoseob glared in warning and he quieted back down.

“That’s right.” The dragons big hand covered most of Yoseob’s chest as he pressed it over Yoseob’s heart. “When humans feel the call, they come to us and we help them find the one who will fill the emptiness it causes.”

Yoseob’s breath caught and he cast a furtive glance towards the other dragons before looking back at the human one with near-desperation. “You can make it go away? The bad feeling?”

The dragon-human nodded. “It’s your soul, calling for the dragon bond. Once it’s been formed, the bad feeling goes away and never comes back.”

“I want it to go away,” his voice was hushed and almost reverent as he dared to hope for the first time in his life.

It would be a long time before he recognized the look of sympathetic empathy on the dragon’s humanoid face that day - the only one of the elders to truly understand what it was like to know the clawing ache of the emptiness. “I know, little one. I know.”

 

~*~*~

Yoseob was twelve the next time he was summoned to the chambers. He’d made four of the annual Flights of Fledglings (which he privately thought was a stupid name for it since there really wasn’t that much flying involved and it certainly wasn’t nearly as epic and majestic as the name implied - more like a mad scuffling and scrambling of teenaged dragons who weren’t old enough yet for epic **or** majestic).

He was still dragonless.

No other human had ever made the trip four times. Most either found their dragon in the first two flights or gave up and went home to spread stories about having narrowly avoiding being dragon food.

Giving up never even crossed Yoseob’s mind. The clawing ache had only gotten worse over the years, harder to control, more insistent as he watched others be chosen over and over again.

As he stood before them, he couldn’t help but wiggle his fingers in greeting at the kind dragon he’d met before. He knew, now, that the elder water dragon was bondless as well and had been for a long time. As he’d walked the halls of the dragon temple in the weeks before each flight, mingling with other hopeful humans and the dragon mages sent to help them prepare, he’d heard the whispers of pity. He knew the terrible emptiness and couldn’t help but be glad that he was only human. Even if he never found the dragon that was meant for him, at least his suffering wouldn’t last forever.

Sonhoyoung dipped his head in acknowledgement but it was the massive bronze dragon that moved forward, shifting as he approached.

Yoseob knew him to be called Siwon - he of the most feared and aggravating human known to dragon-kind. No one Yoseob had ever spoken to had kind words for Kim Heechul.

Even in dragon-mage form, Siwon loomed over Yoseob and he had to fight the urge to step back. He wasn’t afraid, exactly, but he did have a healthy respect for anyone that was so much bigger than him even **without** a dragon’s natural advantages behind it.

The dragon mage hesitated before dropping down to one knee in front of him. “Yang Yoseob… Four flights have yet to yield a bond for you. At this point, we would usually advise a child to seek their future elsewhere.”

“No…” Yoseob couldn’t help the protest that escaped his lips. To be forced away, never allowed to search for the one who would finally fill the awful emptiness….

But Siwon raised a hand to silence him. “We’ve all agreed that such would be impossible for you. And worse than cruel. The call in your soul is strong enough that we can all feel it easily.” He glanced over his shoulder and sighed softly before offering Yoseob a small smile. “But we are forced to consider that perhaps it’s not a fledgling you were meant for. Sonhoyoung is not the only adult dragon who has never found his human, simply the oldest.”

There was a huff of annoyance from the dragon in question, but Siwon ignored it. “We’d like to offer you an apprenticeship here at the temple. You’d have to be tested, of course, to discover where you’d flourish best, but… you’d be here. Where you’d be easily accessible to all unbonded dragons. Do you accept?”

Internal jubilation cut off almost before it began as Yoseob glanced between the other dragons and back to Siwon. “My family….”

“Arrangements could be made. Either visitation or they could be relocated to the human village at the base of the mountain.”

Yoseob didn’t even think about it, just threw his arms around Siwon’s neck and held on tight. “Yes! Yes, please! Oh, thank you!”

“Umm…” The dragon tensed uncomfortably before patting him awkwardly on the back while the others snickered and chortled behind him. “That’s … good.”

 

~*~*~

After that meeting, the dragons made good on their word. His parents agreed to the apprenticeship easily enough. For all that it hadn’t cured their son, they knew that simply having the hope that he **might** find a bond made Yoseob far happier than anything their small village had to offer. Convincing them to relocate… That had been more difficult.

Impossible, even.

So once every couple of months, he made the trek back to his family home. Sometimes he went on horseback. On one particularly unpleasant visit, he’d ended up walking. Most often he got a ride from one friend or another who’d already bonded to their dragon.

His parents weren’t particularly comfortable or happy when they had dragons landing in their vegetable garden, but they stayed resolute in their refusal to move and didn’t complain about it - much.

Years passed.

Life became lessons in anything and everything. There were basics that the dragons felt every human should know (although, honestly, very few ever learned); reading, writing, and arithmetic. But he learned other things as well. He learned about magic and history, healing and cooking, starguiding and gardening. He soaked up everything that anyone would teach him. They never really found anything specific that he excelled at, but he was passably decent at everything.

Yoseob was well liked in the temple and in the nearby village by dragons and humans alike. Even Kim Heechul was known to be slightly less acidic towards him.

He made friends that became closer than family.

His life was more full than most people ever experienced.

But through it all, as each year passed and more dragons passed him by, the emptiness grew.

 

~*~*~

_“Thirteen years is nothing to us, but for a human… Are you sure he calls?”_

_“Yes, my lady. His soul cries out more loudly than any I’ve ever felt and every year it simply gets stronger.”_

_“And he bears it?”_

_“Better than me, on some days.”_

_“Your strength is an inspiration to us all.”_

_“As is his. I just fear that he won’t ever find fulfillment. I have time, he doesn’t. Human lifespans are infinitely shorter.”_

_“A dragon soul never dies. It simply repeats the human cycle until it makes its way back home.”_

_“Of course, my lady.”_

_“I think I should like to meet this human who earns such strong praise from elders and fledglings alike.”_

_“Of course, my lady.”_

 

~*~*~

“Hey Seobie! Wait up!”

Yoseob glanced back to see Hyunseung running towards him and slowed his steps so that the older man could catch up. “Where’s Gikwang?”

Hyunseung shuddered and shook his head. “I left him arguing with the cat, but don’t be surprised if-”

His words were cut off when something small and heavy crashed into him and both humans stumbled.

“HI!” The feathered dragon darted around their heads as they recovered their balance. “How could you just **leave** me alone with that horrible, no good, **meanie**?!”

“-If he’s right behind me.” Hyunseung sighed and finished. He reached out and tried to grab the ranting dragon, but failed as Gikwang spun off in a dizzying circle.

“-And then he tried to **eat** me!!! **Again**!!!!”

“Well if you didn’t look so much like a big, fat bird…”

Hyunseung gave Yoseob a long suffering look as Gikwang squawked in protest and set off into another ranting tizzy. “Thanks, Seobie. You’re a pal.”

Yoseob grinned and smacked his shoulder before ducking as the dragon zigged instead of zagged and nearly crashed into his head. “Don’t mention it.”

He lingered for a moment, watching the pair wistfully. Hyunseung and Gikwang had been together for three years, having found each other on their very first flights. For all that Gikwang’s occasionally erratic and spastic behavior grated on Hyunseung’s nerves, Yoseob knew that his friend wouldn’t have traded the tiny dragon away for anyone else in the world.

“Hey, where are you going anyways?” Hyunseung asked, giving up on trying to catch Gikwang until he’d calmed down enough to be somewhat still. “I thought you were supposed to be in Fundamentals of Runic Magic right now. Elder Changmin isn’t exactly the forgiving sort if you’re late, you know…”

“Oh, well, I was summoned up to-”

“Yoseob!”

Even in human form, Junhyung’s voice boomed impressively through the temple’s massive hallways. Yoseob stopped entirely, turning to see the dragon storming his direction, not caring to pay attention to the scribes or pages in his path that he knocked down.

The human did a quick run through of the last few weeks, trying to remember if he’d said or done anything to incur the wrath of the usually calm dragon. Nothing came to mind, though, and the knowledge that Junhyung couldn’t possibly be angry at him allowed Yoseob to stand his ground as the fuming dragon stopped before him. “Hi, Junhyung. Nice to see you too.”

Junhyung’s nostrils flared slightly and he opened his mouth looking ready to spout fire when Gikwang flitted between them. Junhyung’s hands moved so fast that Yoseob only barely saw them at all, then he was depositing a disgruntled dragon into Hyunseung’s arms. “Put a leash on him.”

“Brooooother!” Dragon faces weren’t really structured for a great deal of expression, but Yoseob got the distinct impression that Gikwang was pouting. The suspicion was confirmed a moment later as the dragon shifted and expanded until Hyunseung was holding the man shaped version of his bonded. “Why are you so **mean**???”

Then he wiggled around until he slid far enough in Hyunseung’s arms to actually get more than his toes on the ground. Even in human form, Gikwang was smaller than Hyunseung - something that frustrated him to no end and amused the hell out of Yoseob usually since human-Gikwang was the same size as he was.

“Why aren’t you with Dongwoon?” Yoseob asked, frowning as he realized what was off with the picture before him. Junhyung had only recently bonded in the last flight, not even a month past. No freshly bonded pair were ever seen separately. Of course, Junhyung and Dongwoon were something of a special case - and not in a good way.

Reminded of his annoyance, Junhyung flung a hand back in the direction he’d come from. “The spiteful little brat locked himself in his room!”

“Well, what did you do to him?”

“Me?!” Junhyung look infuriated. “Why does everyone assume that it’s **my** fault whenever he gets his tail knotted and decides to be a brat?”

“You’re joking, right?” Yoseob sighed and shook his head. “Look, I don’t have time for this. I’m supposed to be meeting Soyou **right now**.”

“I can’t believe you nicknamed an elder. Or that he lets you get away with it.”

“Sonhoyoung is too much of a mouth full.”

“Who cares?” Junhyung got back into Yoseob’s face and for the first time in a while, Yoseob couldn’t help but pity the dragon a little. He could see the strain and near-desperation in the dark eyes. “Look, you’ve got to get him out of his room, okay? It’s been an entire day this time and I know he hasn’t even eaten. It isn’t healthy. You’re his friend, he’ll listen to you!”

Yoseob sighed and shook his head, reminding himself again that his pity was misplaced. Junhyung had brought this all on himself. “Maybe if you stopped rubbing his face in the fact that he’s a poor second to the one you **wanted** …”

At least the dragon had the grace to look slightly guilty. “That’s got nothing to do with this.”

“Junhyung, you petitioned the elders to test the validity of the bond! How did you really expect him to react?”

“How do you know about that? That was a private matter. No one is supposed to know that.”

Gikwang scoffed and snuggled against Hyunseung, looking smug about the fact that his own bond was doing so much better than his half-brother’s. It wasn’t often that he came out ahead of Junhyung in any comparison. “Oh please. Remember where you’re at. This place is crawling with gossipy fledglings and bored pages. **Everyone** knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lady Hyori herself knows since she’s visiting.”

“Tell you what,” Yoseob said through gritted teeth. “I’ll ask her just as soon as you guys let me answer her **summons**.”

That caught their attention.

“You got summoned by the queen?”

“Yes. And I’m running late thanks to you guys, so please.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Junhyung, just… try not to make things with Dongwoon worse than they are already and I’ll talk to him as soon as I’m done, okay?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, just took off, hoping that the dragon queen would be understanding.

 

~*~*~

“You’re late.”

“Yeah… Sorry, Soyou. Things came up, you know?”

The dragon mage smirked slightly, sniffing the air. “Yes, I can imagine. You do keep the most… distracting company. Dare I ask what new difficulty has befallen Junhyung?”

“He’s just…” Yoseob sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe he honestly thought no one would find out about the petition.”

“He is young. And except for his random dalliances, he prefers the company of the forests to human or dragon. I doubt he realizes just how thorough the gossip channels are here.” Soyou smiled and led Yoseob through the chamber doors.

Though Yoseob knew the elder was right, he still kind of wished he was strong enough to bash Junhyung’s head against the wall a few times. He’d been friends with the dragon siblings for years, but Dongwoon was his friend too and Yoseob hated knowing how badly Junhyung was hurting him. Inexperience and general ineptitude weren’t usually problems that Junhyung had in anything, but he’d been bungling the entire bond with Dongwoon from before it had even been formed. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to look up one day and realize that he’d damaged it beyond reparation.

“I’m sure it will all work out in the end.”

“I hope so…”

“Mistakes are often made in the beginning of a bonding. They have a great deal of time ahead of them to figure it all out.” A new voice interrupted them and Yoseob shivered slightly at the power and grace of it as it seemed to slide down his spine.

His breath caught when he finally pinpointed the source.

The woman who rose from her pillowed seat near the window was easily the most beautifully exotic creature that Yoseob had ever seen - and he’d been living with dragons since he was twelve. She seemed to eclipse everyone and everything else in the room and he was only vaguely aware of the human moving quietly in her shadow.

She smiled slightly and seemed to flow over the carpeted floor to stand before him. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Yang Yoseob.”

“Ma’am.” Belatedly, he dipped his head and averted his eyes, unsure of the proper etiquette. No one had ever coached him for being in the presence of royalty.

Her tinkling laughter was as full and powerful as the rest of her voice and he shivered again as her fingers tipped his chin up so that he was looking at her once more. “Bashful, Yoseob? You? That’s not something I’ve heard…”

He couldn’t help but blush slightly. “Uh.. No, ma’am. Not usually.”

“Hmm… just me, then?” She smiled and tilted her head slightly. “I’m flattered.”

“You do have that way about you, Hyori.” There was movement behind her and Yoseob’s attention was drawn finally to the man with her. He was not as impressive as the queen, but there was something about him… A quiet depth that bespoke of infinite calm and patience. There was kindness and wisdom in his eyes as he observed Yoseob with a small smile. “You shouldn’t tease him.”

“But really, Jongkook, isn’t he precious?”

Yoseob’s blush darkened.

The cough behind him did a poor job of covering up Soyou’s amusement and if he’d been slightly closer, Yoseob might have kicked at him, dragon or not.

Her smile widened slightly before she turned away and walked back over to the window. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but you’re something of a unique case. No unbonded human has ever dwelled within the walls of this temple - or any other - for as long as we have allowed you to."

A faint sense of unease started coiling around his heart. “Are you going to send me away, ma’am?”

“No. Now that I’ve met you, I agree with Soyou and the others. It would be cruel to do such a thing to one such as you." She beckoned him over to stand with her by the window.

It was startling how high up they truly were. The temple had been built into one of the tallest mountains in the eastern range, but that was easy to forget down in the levels where he spent most of his days. The lower-most entrance to the temple was a long way from the base of the mountain and it's village in human terms, but from here … He could tell it was hardly any distance at all - comparatively.

He leaned closer to get a better look, trying to guess about where his parent's village was.

"You're not afraid of the height…"

Yoseob glanced at her in confusion before shrugging. "Junhyung has taken me higher before." He quirked a grin. "And there wasn't glass protecting me, then."

"Most humans are uneasy being so far away from the safety of the flatlands, but I suppose it's simply another way that you are different." She pointed off towards the sunset. "My own homeland and it's temple is a fair distance to the west - even by a dragon's reckoning. It's surrounded by trees and lakes. I confess that the mountains make me somewhat … claustrophobic."

"I can't even imagine it," Yoseob said softly. He'd been born and raised in the mountains. It was home to him. He couldn't imagine being uncomfortable among the towering peaks or rolling foothills.

"Would you like to see it?"

His eyes flew back to her, startled by the soft offer. "What?"

"You've been here for a long time, Yoseob. You've met every mountain dragon alive. If your mate lives, it's not here."

He swayed slightly, dizzy as much with the idea of leaving as the possibility that his dragon was dead. The thought had honestly never occurred to him, though he supposed it should have. He was almost 21 years old and the painful emptiness that the dragons said was his soul calling out to one of their kind was the oldest thing he knew. Soyou insisted that his call was the loudest that the dragon elder had ever heard - it was why he'd had such hope that Yoseob was **his**.

Surely if the call was that loud, his own dragon would have heard it.

If he were alive.

Yoseob's heart stuttered painfully in his chest and his vision began to swim.

Strong arms caught him as he went down.

“Hush, now,” a soft voice whispered in his ear. “She didn’t mean to upset you… It’s all right, Yoseob… sshh…”

It was only as the voice soothed him back to quietness that he even became aware of the sharp keening noises he’d been making.

“Forgive me, little one,” The queen’s voice joined her mate’s. “That was indelicately handled.”

Her hands settled against Yoseob’s chest, rubbing soothing circles, echoes of power seeping into his skin, calming him.

“Not little,” he muttered, slumping back against the man who’d caught him.

She laughed softly and patted his cheek. “To me you….”

He blinked at her in confusion as her voice trailed off and her hand stilled against his face. “I’m what?”

Her head tilted slightly and her eyes lost focus for a moment.

“What is it, Hyori?” Jongkook’s voice was soft, but it seemed to echo in Yoseob’s ear.

“I’m not… sure…” The queen shook her head and snagged Yoseob’s left wrist, pulling it close. She seemed to glare at the pale skin for a long moment before sniffing delicately. “It’s so faint… I can’t get a grasp on it like this…”

Yoseob was afraid to ask what ‘it’ was, but no one was exactly waiting for his input. A warm hand covered his eyes. Before he could protest, the air around them began to stir and heat.

He shivered as he realized what was happening and he was glad for the extra layer of protection Jongkook was offering.

Most dragons switched back and forth between their two forms easily and naturally. It was done quickly and any wash of power between shifts was suppressed or unnoticeable to humans who weren’t sensitive to it.

For those who were sensitive to the power and magic of the shift, it could cause anything from a tingle along their senses to actual migraines.

Few elders ever transformed in the presence of someone sensitive because the age and power of the dragon had a lot to do with the effects.

As he’d gotten older Yoseob’s sensitivity had increased slightly, but he’d always been pretty lucky. Except for members of the red flight, none of the dragons that frequented the temple ever gave him more than a tickle along the back of his neck.

The queen’s human form had done more than that. This… He shivered and curled further against Jongkook. He was sure if he were to open his eyes, they would burn out from the brilliance of the raw power radiating from her as she made the shift from human to dragon.

It seemed to burn on and on until breathing became uncomfortable and for the first time in his life, Yoseob felt the tremble of genuine fear in the presence of a dragon. Suddenly, he had a brand new understanding for why his parents had been so leery of sending him away into their care.

Eventually the power seemed to settle and the hand on his eyes moved away.

He wasn’t quite ready to look at her, but something flicked over his wrist and he couldn’t help himself. Yoseob clenched his eyes shut again, though, at the sight of her snake like tongue flickering over his skin again. All he caught from the brief glance was the impression of immense size and brilliant emerald colors.

He was trying to decide if he wanted to risk another look when the power swelled again and the arms around him tightened.

Before he could question it, fiery pain seared its way through his arm.

Yoseob had never felt anything like it in his life. Not even the pain of the emptiness that had been clawing at his chest and mind for as long as he could remember came close to matching it. He felt like his arm was melting away and the bone underneath was being twisted and reshaped to a madwoman’s whim.

He shrieked and twisted, desperately trying to escape the vice grip that held him prisoner to the torture, but Jongkook’s arms never slackened. The pain sank down so deep that he was sure it was searing away his very soul until nothing remained, until all that was left was the pain and the emptiness, battling for the husk that would be left behind.

When blackness rushed up to save him, Yoseob wasn’t even aware enough to be grateful.

 

~*~*~

“How is this even possible?”

“It was so faded… I almost missed it entirely. I’m not surprised he’s lived here for so long and no one else noticed.”

“But why has he only just been reborn? It’s been… I don’t even remember how long it’s been.”

“Yang Yoseob is not the first rebirth. For the mark on his soul to have faded so thoroughly… It’s likely he’s been repeating the cycle from the very beginning. This kind of erosion can only occur over a great deal of time and natural damage.”

The voices washed over Yoseob, none of it making very much sense to him except his name. The pain was gone, but the shadow of it lingered like a menacing specter waiting for him to acknowledge it.

“He’s waking up.”

He shook his head and sank back away from the hands that wanted to pull him out of the dark.

“Forgive me, Yoseob. It had to be done…”

“Come on, Seobie. Open your eyes.” When he refused again, clenching his eyes shut more tightly and moving to cover his ears, Soyou lost patience, swatting the hands away and shaking him lightly. “Of for the love of… You are not a child. Stop acting like one.”

“It hurt!” Yoseob rasped out, his throat aching and raw, his eyes flashing angrily at his friend.

Soyou arched a brow. “I could tell that. But it’s over now and you’ve been given a great gift. I’d think you’d be more interested in **that**.”

“What-” He trailed off, glancing between the two dragons and Jongkook. He cleared his throat and winced slightly. Either he’d kept screaming even after he’d passed out or the entire ordeal had lasted even longer than he’d thought. “What gift?”

“You don’t feel any different? Not at all?” Hyori asked, watching him carefully.

“You mean besides the fact that my throat is on fire and my arm is limp as a noodle?” He made a face and shifted further away from her and towards Soyou. “Yeah, I feel really, **really** uncomfortable with you leaning over me like that.”

He’d never been afraid of a dragon in his life, but he wanted to flinch away every time she moved.

There was a hint of resigned sadness in her eyes, but she ignored the comment. “Close your eyes and concentrate. It’s languished for so long, it might take real effort to get it stirring again.”

“Look, I don’t know what kind of twisted game you’re playing, but-”

“Yoseob.” He’d never heard Soyou sound so stern before. “We’ve granted you a great deal of leniency over the years, but you will **not** speak to our queen in such a manner. Apologize now.”

“It’s all right, Soyou.” She waved away the water dragon’s protest. Her eyes never left Yoseob’s. “It’s perfectly understandable. He’s always trusted in his safety with our kind and I betrayed that trust. Whatever gain my actions give him, subconsciously, he’ll always associate me with that betrayal.”

There was silence, then Yoseob sighed and shifted again, putting more distance between himself and the queen. “Fine. Whatever. This is me, closing my eyes. What am I supposed to be concentrating on?”

When no one answered, he peeked one eye open to see them all staring at him with varying degrees of surprise. “Well?”

Hyori reached towards him and he couldn’t help it. He flinched and shrank away. She took a soft breath and backed away, gesturing for Soyou to take her place.

Yoseob watched her suspiciously for a moment before deciding it was safe to close his eyes again. Strong, gentle hands settled on either side of his face and he began to relax.

“All your life you’ve felt it, Yoseob. A sense of nothingness and the surety that there should be **something**. It’s the most familiar thing you’ve ever known.” The soft voice, full of understanding and empathy washed over him and Yoseob relaxed further, slipping deeper. “It haunts your sleep at night. But it creeps into the waking moments, too. Sometimes, it’s so strong, you can’t feel anything else.”

Nodding slightly, he sank deeper and reached for the familiar empty feeling.

Yoseob’s eyes flew open and his hand pressed against his chest. “What- How-” He stared helplessly at his friend, unable to put all his confusion and disbelief into a single question. “I don’t understand.”

It was Hyori who answered, smiling at him from where she’d moved to give him space. “You’ve always been different. Everyone here knew it, they just didn’t know why.”

Which explained exactly nothing and he turned to Soyou.

The elder reached down and gently lifted Yoseob’s still aching wrist up into his line of sight. A dark red stain covered the pale skin in a small, simple pattern and he stared at it somewhat uncomprehendingly. He’d seen enough bond marks to recognize it for what it was, but seeing it on his own skin was even more confusing than the suddenly filled emptiness.

“I still don’t understand…”

“You were never going to find the one you were meant for here in the flights because he was never going to come here. And your soul cries out so loudly because it’s already bound.”

“But **how**?”

Hyori hesitated. “A very long time ago, a great dragon and his human suffered a fate that no other of our kind had ever been forced to endure. Inexplicably, the human of the pair fell ill and eventually died.”

Yoseob shivered as his skin crawled at the very idea. “I’ve never heard of a bonded human dying before. Not while the dragon lived.”

Dragons died. For all that they seemed immortal, the truth was they were still vulnerable to nature and each other. Even humans could, in the right circumstances, bring the mighty creatures down. Because they were sustained largely by their dragon’s life force, the humans bonded to them would also die.

The tie didn’t work the other way around, thankfully. Dragons bound to human life spans would never have a chance to procreate. The race would have died out centuries before.

“To my knowledge, it’s only ever happened once and as a race, we try not to think about it ever being possible again.”

Willful ignorance. Yoseob wanted to roll his eyes, unsurprised. The one thing that had always struck him about the dragon race was their ability to completely ignore whatever inconvenient fact of life they didn’t want to acknowledge. It was further proof that their age and wisdom didn’t keep them from falling prey to many of the same weaknesses that humans did.

“What happened to the dragon?”

Hyori sighed and glanced away. “We believe that a dragon soul never truly dies unless the dragon does. Human lives are so infinitesimally short. Can you imagine what the odds of finding your other half would be if there only existed that one, tiny span of time to find them? Some dragons nap for longer than an unbonded human lives.”

Nodding, Yoseob hunched forward slightly. “Soyou’s mentioned it.”

They didn’t often speak of their shared fears and pains, but they’d always understood each other better than anyone else ever had.

“Doojoon believes this as well. For many years, he roamed the world, searching for his soul reborn.”

 _Doojoon_ … Yoseob rolled the name around in his mind, mouthing it softly, testing it’s ebb and flow.

 _Doojoon_ … It was a good name, he thought. It felt right. Just knowing it further soothed the frayed edges of his mind where the emptiness had been filled with something else that hadn’t quite settled yet.

 _Mine_.

“Eventually, the pain and grief of the loss was too much.”

“But he didn’t die?” Even though it was a question, Yoseob already knew the answer. There wasn’t much else he could actually sense yet, but he could feel the steady beat of life coming from the other side of the bond.

“No. He sleeps. Waiting for the flair of life to return to the human side of the bond. I expect he’s coming out of hibernation even now.” She smiled. “It will take a while, though. He’s been asleep for a very long time.”

Yoseob considered it, closing his eyes and poking at the bond. Now that it had been described, he could identify the sluggish feel that permeated it - the haze of one coming out of a deep sleep.

Even as he turned it over in his mind, there was a mental poke back from the other side and he had a sudden vision of a giant red dragon swatting lightly at him and grumbling about being woken.

He smiled and opened his eyes to find the others staring at him. “Reality still hasn’t quite penetrated the dreams, yet.”

Soyou looked a little wistful, but still returned his smile.

Yoseob hesitated, but he had to know. “You said I’d been reborn before… Probably from the very beginning. Why couldn’t he find me?”

“I don’t know.” Hyori shook her head, looking sad and grim. “I can’t imagine any natural means that would have prevented it. But we just don’t know enough. I will find out, though. That I promise you.”

And even though he wasn’t sure he trusted her in anything else, in this, he felt sure she meant every word. He nodded slowly and took a deep breath, anticipation and need curling in his gut. “So… What happens next?”

Did they even have any kind of protocol for dealing with re-establishing a lost bond?

“You can wait here until Doojoon has managed to shake off the lethargy-” he shook his head immediately, not liking the idea of waiting at all, and she smiled at him. “-Or, I can take you to him. Being together will speed everything up. It’s probably the best solution.”

The idea of going near Hyori made his skin crawl and Yoseob looked at Soyou, pleading. “Can’t you take me?”

“I’m sorry, Yoseob. The red flight are protective of their own. I wouldn't be allowed near one in such a vulnerable state. Lady Hyori is likely the only one who could get you to him.”

Yoseob stared at the dragons unhappily. He didn’t like it at all. Just looking at her human form brought the memory of pain rushing back to the surface and he knew that even given a matter of life and death, he’d probably hesitate long enough to get himself killed before he’d be able to force himself onto her dragon back.

There was a sleepy stirring in the back of his mind, a hazy curiosity that prodded at him again as if to ask where he was and why he wasn’t there, and Yoseob sighed.

What choice did he really have?

 

~*~*~

“How long will you be gone?” Dongwoon asked, his voice quiet and subdued as he watched Yoseob pack his knapsack.

Yoseob shrugged and looked around, trying to decide what else he might need. Truthfully, he had very few worldly possessions that actually held any value, sentimental or otherwise. Even though he made his home at the temple, he’d lived a largely transient lifestyle, moving back and forth between it and the village where he’d been born and never really growing attached to physical things. A few articles of clothing, the pillow his mother had made him for his birthday a few years ago, a small chunk of pretty amethyst that Heechul swore warded off evil spirits... Yoseob wasn’t sure if it was true or not - or if there was any spirit that needed warding off more than Heechul himself - but there weren’t many people who could say they had a gift from Kim Heechul and well… There was always the chance that he was being truthful.

He pulled the drawstring shut and knotted it. There wasn’t anything else he was particularly worried about leaving or bringing. “I don’t know. No one seems to have any idea how long it will take the damage to heal or even how long it will take him to shake off hibernation. Could be a few days. Could be a few weeks.”

“Oh.”

He glanced up and stopped at the slightly lost expression on his friend’s face. He didn’t even hesitate to cross the small room and pull Dongwoon into a hug. “It’ll be okay.”

For a long moment, Dongwoon remained tense and silent in his arms, then he slumped against Yoseob. The misery was clear in his voice. “Will it? Because right now I don’t really see how it can be.”

Yoseob sighed and ran his fingers through Dongwoon’s hair. “Time is in your favor. You guys have lots of time to figure it out.”

“Seobie…” Dongwoon shifted so that his head was resting against Yoseob’s shoulder and took a shuddering breath that ghosted across Yoseob’s neck. “Sometimes I wish I’d never come here.”

“I know.” Yoseob’s arms tightened slightly. His heart broke for his Dongwoon, and he wished again that he could smack some sense into Junhyung’s head. “I really do believe it’ll work out in the end, though.”

“Like you believed you were meant for a dragon?”

The tease was small and the humor only barely cut into the pain and sadness, but it was a start. Yoseob pulled back and grinned. “Yep. And I’m right about this too. Remember, no matter how rough it gets… It’ll be worth it.”

Dongwoon hugged him tightly and took another shuddering breath before letting him go with a gentle shove towards the door. “Yeah. Enough about my problems. Go get your dragon.”

“You're gonna be okay?”

Yoseob was anxious to leave, but not at the expense of his friend’s well being.

Dongwoon managed to dredge up a smile and shoved him again. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. Go. You’ve been waiting for this a long time. And he’s been waiting even longer.”

“…” Yoseob only hesitated another moment before giving Dongwoon another big hug and slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Okay. Try not to kill Junhyung before I get back, okay?”

“As if I could.” Dongwoon sounded un-reassuringly disgruntled and annoyed that he couldn’t harm his bonded in any real physical way.

Yoseob was glad that Dongwoon hadn’t spent as much time among the dragons as he had. It was probably for the best that the younger man didn’t know how much power he really had over Junhyung.

“Well…”

“Go. Or I’ll go get Gikwang.”

Laughing, Yoseob pretended to shudder in horror. “Okay, okay! I’m going!” He paused at the door, turning back with a grin. “Don’t let the cat eat him while I’m gone!”

“Seobie-”

He shut the door on whatever threat Dongwoon was going to level at him and took off running towards his destiny.

 

~*~*~

*~

Riding on Hyori’s massive serpentine form was nothing like any other ride he’d ever taken. He was uncomfortable and tense the entire way, dread and anticipation making his already queasy stomach even worse. Frankly, Yoseob suspected the only reason he managed to make the trip at all without falling off and breaking his neck was Jongkook’s strong presence at his back and the arm wrapped firmly around his waist.

He sincerely hoped that Doojoon was shaped more like Junhyung because he wasn’t sure he had the balance and stability to handle riding if the dragon was like Hyori.

He’d never been more glad to touch solid ground than he was when she finally landed. If it wouldn’t have been humiliating himself, Yoseob might have flung himself to his knees and kissed the ground when Jongkook let him slide down finally. As it was, he was sorely tempted to do it anyways.

She flowed away in a tangle of coils and scales and Yoseob sank down to sit while Jongkook crouched down beside him. “What now?”

“She’ll be back for us once she’s got the door open.”

Yoseob arched a brow but didn’t ask.

It made a kind of sense that it would take a dragon to open up a dragon’s door.

He hoped Doojoon wanted to move into the temple once he was awake, though. Yoseob wasn’t sure he was cut out for living in a cave… Or wherever it was that Doojoon had buried himself for hibernation.

Curious, Yoseob glanced around as he readjusted the ropes of his bag. They’d shifted around during the flight and were digging into his neck uncomfortably. He hadn’t seen much from the air. He’d mostly been concentrating on not losing his last meal all over the place.

They’d landed in a small meadow of sorts. They had to be at a fairly high altitude, though, if Yoseob was any judge. Despite being deep into the summer season, there were patches of snow on the ground and he could hear the sounds of run off as it melted.

“How far did we go?”

Jongkook shrugged and glanced at the sky. “Further and higher than either Hyori or I are particularly comfortable with. But this is important.”

The air was thick and chilled. Another snow storm would be making itself felt soon. Yoseob shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around his body.

When Hyori returned, she’d thankfully returned to her dragon mage form. It was easier to deal with her if he could pretend that the power and ability to inflict pain somehow vanished with her larger form.

He quirked a rueful grin in her general direction. Dragons weren’t the only ones who were good at deluding themselves.

“Come. It’s a bit of a hike and I’d rather we didn’t get caught out when the storm hits.”

It was easier to be forgiving now that he was on the ground, close to the one he’d been waiting for for so long. The presence in the back of his mind was stronger, seeping into his very being.

“Yoseob?”

He blinked at them, unsure when his eyes had slipped closed or when Hyori and Jongkook had come to stand so close to him. “Yeah?”

Hyori hesitated. “You can feel him now, can’t you?”

One hand pressed against his chest and he smiled. “Yes.”

“Then he’ll know you’re here as well.” She shared a look with her own mate. “Perhaps you should stay here, Jongkook.”

“Hyori…”

“My presence is sure to aggravate him. He’ll be sensitive to any intrusion at the moment. If he becomes violent, I can handle him. I can remain calm and diffuse the situation as best as possible given the circumstances.” She kissed his cheek softly. “But if he were to harm you…”

Jongkook sighed. “I don’t like it.”

The words obviously weren’t an actual protest though, because he settled his pack onto the ground before wrapping his arms around her.

“I know.”

Yoseob looked away, trying to give them privacy for a moment even though everything in him wanted to be moving **now**.

Every second that passed made the bond press harder and harder against his mind. Despite the hazy fog of old slumber still clinging to the other presence, the dragon was growing more and more aware, more and more anxious that his human was close but _not close enough_. Yoseob thought that he probably should have been able to soothe Doojoon somehow through the bond, but the truth was that - old bond or not - he was just as inexperienced with it as any other newly bonded human.

He fidgeted, turning the problem over in his mind and trying to ignore the need that was crawling along his skin.

The hand that dropped onto his shoulder startled him and he couldn’t help but jump and squeak slightly. Then had to press both hands against his temples as the presence sensed his agitation and responded in kind.

Around them the very mountain seemed to tremble and Hyori grabbed Yoseob’s shoulder more tightly and began herding him forward. “We need to get you in there now. Move.”

“I can’t-” He hissed slightly as the shaking made him stumble and his knees scrapped across the ground.

Hyori didn’t even pause, pulling him upwards even as she dragged him on. “You have to. He could bring the entire mountain down trying to get to you before he’s even aware enough to realize what he’s doing.”

The world seemed to shrink then… It narrowed down to the pain pressing against his head, her hands pulling him along, and the pain radiating from his scrapped knees.

Yoseob felt like he was swimming through mud, every muscle in his body tired and weighed down by disuse and pain. Overlaying that was need like he’d never known - need to protect, need to touch, need to see, need to hold - just overwhelming, all encompassing **need**. In some dim corner of his mind, he knew that the feelings didn’t really belong to him, but it permeated everything so thoroughly that it might as well have been his own.

He was only barely aware when the open sky was replaced by the walls of a cavern and he couldn’t have guessed how much time had passed since they’d left Jongkook if his life depended on it.

The trembling of the ground was worse inside the cave and all around them the air echoed with the sounds of upset and anger.

It seemed to go on forever, when Yoseob was jerked to a halt.

Everything stuttered to a stop for a long moment and then a mighty roar nearly blew them both down. More precisely, it nearly blew Yoseob down and Hyori almost fell trying to catch him on the uneven, unfamiliar ground of the cave. Hers was no cave dwelling race and she had no love for mountains or anything other than the open sky and the sweeping forests.

Raw power, easily a match for Hyori’s, seemed to crackle and crawl over Yoseob’s skin. It drove him to his knees despite Hyori’s best efforts to keep him standing.

Dimly, Yoseob knew it wasn’t being used against him. He could tell, through the bond, that it was aimed at the dragon queen holding him. He was only catching the edges, but it was enough to pull a hoarse cry from his much abused throat - a sound that only served to further infuriate the great red dragon.

Above him, he could hear Hyori yelling something in a language he didn’t understand and he could feel the beginnings of her shift stirring in the air.

 _stop…. Please…._ He couldn’t speak, could barely breathe… All he could do was think it, over and over again, silently begging with no real hope that he could make himself heard over the cacophony. He only prayed that he would black out before Hyori shifted because while he wasn’t sure his body could handle the both of them like this, he **knew** his mind would crumble under the unintended assault. And even if he survived it, part of him feared the pair of raging dragons would kill him with their ferocious displays of power without even realizing it.

The thought had hardly trickled through his mind when everything stopped abruptly.

He didn’t have time to question it before he was snatched up in a massive paw and pressed tight against the red dragon’s chest as Doojoon scrambled backwards with a roar of warning at Hyori.

Yoseob stared at the dragon queen in confusion, not entirely sure how he’d ended up in the position he was in, hanging like a rag doll in a giant child’s hand all the way across the massive cavern from where he’d started. The pain had stopped, though, and deep within the very core of his being he **knew** he was safe. The russet colored paw that held him easily spanned his entire chest and upper thighs and could have crushed him without a thought, but it cradled him gently despite the dragon’s obvious agitation. There was just enough pressure to hold Yoseob securely without any danger of so much as bruising him.

Wiggling slightly, Yoseob got his arms up and out of the grip so that he could wrap them around the topmost fingerlike claw and pressed his cheek back against Doojoon’s chest, reveling in the simple fact that _he was finally where he belonged_.

There was another roar that Yoseob felt in his back more than heard with his ears, then Doojoon was hopping awkwardly backwards and swatting at the side of the cave.

Something massive slammed down in front of them and Hyori vanished from Yoseob’s view.

 

~*~*~

“You can’t change yet, right?” Yoseob asked, conversationally as he dug around in his bag, looking for the small pouch of dried fruit that Jongkook had pressed into his hands before they’d started their journey.

There was a huffing sound that he took for confirmation, then it quieted again.

He wasn’t sure how deep into the mountain Doojoon had brought him or how long it had been since they’d left Hyori. The dragon hadn’t let go of him for even a second, choosing instead to simply loosen his grip slightly so that Yoseob could move around a little once they’d settled.

Doojoon was sprawled out on his back while Yoseob sat cross legged on his chest. The first paw had moved from his chest to his legs while the other rested against his back, holding him steady as the dragon’s large chest rose and fell with each breath. It wasn’t the most comfortable position Yoseob had ever been in, but he was content with it.

His fingers finally hit upon the soft leather of the pouch. “Ah ha!”

He was careful about opening only the corner and pulling out tiny pieces. If he dropped it, he didn’t trust his ability to find it again and he wasn’t really sure what other food would be had if he lost it.

Though his eyes had adjusted quickly enough to the dim light of the cave, Yoseob still couldn’t see much. Vague outlines and shapes, mostly. He could hear the gentle lapping of water nearby and the occasional rustling of something. A breeze stirred the air occasionally, so he thought there must be an opening to the outside somewhere nearby, but nothing he could see.

“Nice place… What I can see of it.”

Another huff greeted his sarcasm and he had to grab ahold of one of the claws across his legs when the paw at his back moved away.

He strained to try to make sense of the rustling, shuffling sounds and then yelped and covered his face when a fiery plume lit the darkness. When he moved it away, he had to blink at the low light from the burning limb Doojoon was holding slightly to the side. The draconian face peered at him, curiously.

It occurred to Yoseob then that he probably looked differently than the person Doojoon had known before. He wondered at who he might have been, then, and at what the dragon was seeing in him now. He hoped any changes weren’t disappointing.

Doojoon’s head flopped back and he gave a disgruntled half-roar before it lifted again. He sat the make-shift torch to the side out of the way. Then Yoseob squealed and tried to wiggle away as the dragon held him tight and licked the side of his face. “Hey! Oh gross! Stop that!”

Laughter echoed throughout the cavern, mingled huffs of sound intertwined with human peals of giggles, as it became a game to the dragon, Doojoon trying to find exposed places to lick while Yoseob did his best to keep the rough tongue from making contact with anything other than his arms.

When the game finally came to an end, Doojoon rolled sideways, letting Yoseob slide down to the ground.

Grinning, Yoseob curled his legs under him and leaned sideways against the dragon’s chest as he caught his breath. “At least you’re not slimy like Soyou.”

A gruff sound and Doojoon pushed his head with the horned snout, careful not to actually hurt him despite the undertow of jealous annoyance that accompanied the move.

Yoseob laughed and reached out to run his fingers over the the scaled lines of his dragon’s face.

 _His dragon_.

He laughed again, a sound of pure joy and couldn’t refrain from leaning forward and kissing the end of Doojoon’s snout. “It’s okay. We always knew we weren’t for each other.”

Another disgruntled sound and he got the impression that the dragon was pouting. It reminded him of another friend and he leaned back to stare at Doojoon consideringly. “How come you can’t talk like this? Gikwang can… Junhyung, too.”

He tried to remember whether or not he’d heard any others, but honestly, he tended to interact with the dragons in mage form more often than not.

Doojoon stared back at him for a moment before turning away and stretching his neck out. Yoseob was worried he’d offended his companion before a low rumbling sound startled him and he edged closer in curiosity trying to figure out what it was. The sound came again, the pitch vaguely like someone slipping in gravel. The dragon shifted slightly with a third rumbling sound, popping his jaw as he turned back to Yoseob and the human realized with a start that the sound was Doojoon clearing his throat.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it though before a low rumbling voice, raspy with disuse filled the air. When it went silent again, Doojoon peered at him hopefully.

“I have no idea what you just said,” Yoseob replied, grinning. Doojoon looked disappointed for a moment, but perked back up when Yoseob continued. “But your voice is amazing.”

The dragon fairly preened at the compliment, a few more rumbling words spilling out. He could have been reciting poetry or going on about the weather for all that Yoseob knew, but it really was a nice voice.

Leaning back against the dragon, he considered this new quandary. He hadn’t even considered it, before, but communication could be a problem if Doojoon didn’t speak the same language he did.

Although, obviously Doojoon had no problems understanding **him**. “Hey, how come you can understand me, but I can’t understand you?”

The rambling paused and Doojoon’s head came down and bumped into his own.

“Ow…” Yoseob rubbed his head even though it didn’t really hurt. “You are going to have to learn my language because your version of charades sucks.”

Doojoon huffed and rolled his eyes before lifting one paw and gently gripping Yoseob’s skull like it was a melon. When he let go, Doojoon flicked his own head just below one crowning horn before peering back at Yoseob with a raised brow.

“You’re reading my mind?” Yoseob guessed. It made sense. He’d been getting a vague feel of the emotion and intent from Doojoon even before Hyori had finally managed to get him into the cave and they’d had their first contact and he didn’t have near the experience with the entire bonding thing that the dragon had.

There was a pause as Doojoon considered that, then he was waving one paw in the air with a gesture that Yoseob took to mean _not quite, but close enough_.

“Helpful, I guess.” They’d need to have a more solid basis for communication eventually, though.

He pushed himself up to his feet and looked around. Though it’s light was dimming slightly, the limb Doojoon had lit before was still burning where it had been set aside nearby. The flicker of the firelight was enough to give Yoseob a better look around the cavern they were in than he’d had before, but he still couldn’t quite see the walls and he wondered how big it actually was.

There were a fair number of small bushes scattered around and he moved to poke at one in curiosity. He’d never seen plants that could grow without sunlight, but he’d read about them. Somehow he’d expected such a thing to look more exotic than common mountain brush.

Maybe there was something more interesting hiding in the darkness.

A huff of amusement and then a new plume of fire was sent upwards.

Yoseob couldn’t stop his soft sound of amazement as something far above his head caught and then the fire spread downwards along set patterns. In moments, the entire cavern was awash with a bright glow as the lines of fire reached all the way down to the floor. He turned and swatted at Doojoon’s paw. “Why didn’t you just do that in the first place?”

Then he scrambled over to the nearest line of light to investigate it while the dragon watched on with affectionate humor.

 

~*~*~

*~

Yoseob lost track of the normal flow of time in the cavern. He woke and slept as Doojoon did and at times it seemed like they’d barely woken before they were dozing off again.

When they were awake, Yoseob spent most of his time exploring the cavern and its secrets, keeping up a running commentary to both himself and Doojoon. Sometimes the dragon answered in the gruff incomprehensible language he had, sometimes Yoseob guessed at the meaning through a combination of gestures and the emotion and intent that flowed through the bond.

It hadn’t taken long for him to realize that this was where Doojoon had lain hidden during the long centuries of his hibernation. It had all the basic necessities of long term occupation, from the spring fed pool with its abundance of odd cave fish and crustaceans to the well worn hollow set back into one wall where Doojoon made his bed. It was bigger than the small cottage that Yoseob had grown up in, but it was still a snug fit for the dragon. He curled into it like an old dog would curl into a blanket in front of a fire, rustling this way and that until he’d found just the right spot before pulling Yoseob in after him, unwilling to be separated even for the duration of a nap.

Yoseob didn’t mind. The lethargy from Doojoon’s hibernation effected him more strongly now that they were so close and he found himself nodding off any time he sat still for more than a few minutes. Whether it was a characteristic of the red flight or just something about Doojoon himself, the skin of the dragon’s chest was soft and warm like leather instead of slick and cool like any of the other dragon’s Yoseob had ever had occasion to touch. He slept more deeply and comfortably than he ever had before, hidden away in the mountain, curled up on the dragon’s chest, wrapped up in protective paws.

Each period of wakefulness was better, the both of them more alert than before.

Once he’d fully explored, Yoseob realized that the fire that lit the cave was similar to what was used at the dragon temple, only on a scale that he’d never seen before. He’d never really understood how it worked, exactly, despite Soyou’s attempts to explain it to him. Something about trapped dragon fire and special heating stones that altered heat into light, but most of it had gone in one ear and out the other. It worked and that was all that had ever really mattered to him.

The cavern itself was massive. It was at least half again the size of the Great Room at the temple, although a good portion was taken up by the pool and the rocks that surrounded it. He’d avoided the far side of the cavern as much as possible after his initial curiosity had nearly sent him plummeting to his death. It opened into seeming nothingness and not even Doojoon’s fire had allowed him to see the bottom. The dragon had caught him before he’d actually gone over the edge, but it had still shaken them both.

After the near miss, Doojoon had taken to putting himself between Yoseob and the hazardous edge whenever he was up and moving around.

When the cavern became less novel, Doojoon let himself be pulled this way and that while Yoseob studied the dragon. He held still and tilted his head as Yoseob directed him, letting him look his fill and touch as he wished. He never protested when Yoseob crawled all over him, following the lines where the leathery skin met scale, where soft places gave way to hardened armor.

There was one long, jagged scar running along one shoulder that Yoseob wanted to ask about when their communication improved, but it was the only one visible to human eyes.

Doojoon seemed more amused than anything over the entire situation.

When Yoseob tugged at a wing, the dragon actually roared with laughter when snapping it outwards to it’s full length had sent the man scrambling backwards with a yelp. Though he pouted over it briefly, Yoseob had succumbed to laughter as well, knowing full well that he must have made quite a silly spectacle falling over on his ass and scuttling back in an undignified crab walk.

Trying to examine the spiked tail became a game as Doojoon whipped it this way and that, keeping it out of Yoseob’s reach. At one point, he even tucked it up underneath himself refusing to budge no matter how much Yoseob pushed and prodded only to flop over and ‘play dead’ when Yoseob gave up with a last aggravated elbow to the dragon’s side.

It was easily the happiest period of time Yoseob had ever spent, free of pain and worry with nothing more to do than relax and learn the little quirks of his dragon and their bond.

 

~*~*~

It was the kind of dream he was always embarrassed about having. Phantom hands trailed up over his spine, mapping out each bump and dip with loving care and attention. They lingered there for a moment before brushing outwards to knead the muscles of his back.

He fairly purred under the gentle strokes as they moved out to his ribcage and began moving down again.

Soft words were spoken against his ear, murmurs of love and need making him shiver as the emotion backing them up sent the first tingle of arousal curling up his spine.

The hands moved down, slipping past the tie of his waistband to stroke teasingly at his buttocks before leaving him entirely.

His soft mewl of protest caused his dream lover to huff with amusement before the hands returned, stroking at his hair this time.

Yoseob made another disgruntled noise before the petting soothed him again and he curled closer to Doojoon’s chest content to soak up the affection offered so freely. After a few minutes, he stretched languidly and nuzzled the other’s neck. “Mm… good morning….”

“Good morning,” Doojoon returned softly, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple.

It was such a nice way to wake up, safe and warm in his dragon’s arms….

Yoseob’s eyes popped open and he pushed himself up to stare down at Doojoon blankly.

The dragon mage smiled up at him, the hands that had been in his hair slipping down to stroke idly at his waist.

“…” Yoseob opened his mouth, but closed it again. It wasn’t like he hadn’t known that Doojoon would likely be able to shift into a more human-esque form at some point, he just hadn’t quite expected it to happen while they were asleep. Or for those hands to effect him the way they had. He flushed and dropped down to bury his face against Doojoon’s neck again, hoping the blush didn’t go all the way down his body, but fearing that it did. Sometimes being so pale was the bane of his existence.

One of Doojoon’s arms wrapped around his waist while the other hand moved back up to stroke his hair again. His voice was curious when he spoke. “Why are you embarrassed by your body’s reactions? It’s a natural thing…”

Yoseob couldn’t help the odd noise of mingled embarrassment and disgruntlement as he pressed closer, trying to hide from the dragon’s gaze as much as he could. There were so many ways to answer that question, none of them really covering all the reasons that it was embarrassing to wake up aroused by the more or less innocent touch of his dragon.

Doojoon’s hands paused for a moment, undoubtedly trying to parse meaning from whatever he was seeing in Yoseob’s mind.

There was no telling how many of Yoseob’s secrets were actually exposed.

His head came up again and he frowned down at Doojoon. “I thought you didn’t speak my language…”

Doojoon smiled and tapped his nose with one elegant finger. “What did you think I’ve been doing all this time while you were exploring?”

“Watching me?”

“Well,” Doojoon’s smiled turned up a notch and his hand turned so that the back of his fingers brushed Yoseob’s cheek. “That too.”

The arm around Yoseob’s waist loosened and a hand slid up his back to press down slightly. Doojoon wasn’t forcing the issue, but the look in his eyes was a request Yoseob couldn’t quite ignore even if he’d wanted to.

And he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to.

He eased back down against Doojoon’s chest and let himself fall into the kiss.

Living around bonded pairs of dragons and humans mingled with hopefuls who were intent on **finding** a bond meant that Yoseob hadn’t had much occasion to run around kissing anyone. He could count on one hand the number of kisses he’d ever gotten outside of his family and none of them had been like **this**.

Doojoon kissed him like Yoseob was the only thing that existed in his world. It was heady and intoxicating, a rush of need and love overlain with a sense of completion and rightness. He felt like he could kiss the dragon forever and be perfectly content with his fate.

Reality crashed back down when he shifted slightly, his knees moving to settle on either side of Doojoon’s hips, and two things became clear at once. The first overwhelmed everything else, making him blush and jerk up out of the kiss with a startled noise.

“D-doojoon!”

The dragon arched a brow at him and did a little shifting of his own, completely unapologetic when the move rubbed his arousal against Yoseob’s ass and made the man give an undignified squeak. “What? Didn’t I tell you it was natural?”

“You’re a **dragon**.”

“Last time I checked.”

“And I’m a **human**.”

The look Doojoon gave him was appreciative and almost searing. Yoseob shivered under it and pressed back again, unaware of his body’s instinctive move until Doojoon’s eyes went slightly hazy. “Yes you are, oh… Do that again… that’s nice….”

Yoseob gave himself a mental shake and stopped moving, ignoring the pout Doojoon cast at him. “That’s like… bestiality! Or something.”

Doojoon’s pout melted into a full out frown and there was an undercurrent of offense and, worse, hurt coursing through the bond. “Do I look like a beast to you?”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

But mentally, Doojoon was already pulling away from him, erecting a wall between their minds.

Twenty one years of pain and loneliness flashed through Yoseob’s mind in an instant. Twenty one years worth of crying himself to sleep at night alone in his bed and knowing there should be someone or something else there, that the emptiness was **wrong** in every way that something could be wrong. Thirteen years of watching others find something he should have already had. A life time of wishing and hoping and being disappointed over and over again because the one that could make it all better never came.

The pain of Hyori forcing the latent bond back to the surface was nothing compared to the mere idea of going back to that life.

He threw his arms around Doojoon’s neck and held on as tight as he could, shaking his head and offering anything - everything - that was in his power to offer as long as Doojoon didn’t send him back to it. His entire body shook with the force of his sobs and there was no way to actually make sense out of his broken hearted babble.

The wall dropped between one heartbeat and another, the other side of the bond glowing brightly in his mind as Doojoon wrapped around him mentally and physically. “Shh… It’s okay, Yoseob, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Doojoon held him close, one arm wrapped tightly around him while the other hand rubbed soothing circles up and down his back, stopping to pet his hair randomly before going back to the circles. Over and over again, he whispered reassurances, mostly in his own language but also in Yoseob’s and always with the full force of his emotions behind them.

When Yoseob had calmed to soft shuddering breaths, Doojoon pulled back to tip their foreheads together. He stared into Yoseob’s eyes for a long moment, making sure Yoseob was able to listen and understand before he finally spoke. “Yoseob, I have loved you since the very first day I pushed out of my egg and stumbled out of the clutch to look for you.” He took Yoseob’s hand and pressed it against his chest. “We’re two halves of the same being, neither of us complete without the other.”

Yoseob sniffled slightly, taking another long shuddering breath. “Soulmates?”

Doojoon quirked a soft smile at him. “That’s a human concept. Yoseob, you **are** my soul.”

“You blocked me out…” Yoseob trembled slightly at the painful memory, far too close for comfort. “I don’t like that.”

With a wince, Doojoon sighed and nodded. “I’m sorry.” He made a face and gave Yoseob a helpless look. “You were uncomfortable with my feelings. I really was just trying to spare you from having to feel them. I thought I was helping.”

“Well, you weren’t.” But he could feel the sincerity behind Doojoon’s words and sighed. “Please don’t do that again. Whether your feelings hurt or are uncomfortable, it’s better than the emptiness.” And because he’d started the entire mess by hurting Doojoon first, he hugged the dragon tight. “I don’t think you’re a beast.”

He could feel Doojoon’s smile against his neck as the dragon returned the embrace.

Doojoon pressed a gentle kiss against his jaw before pulling back slightly. “I will never leave you. As you belong to me, I also belong to you. My place is by your side and nothing that you do or don’t do, feel or don’t feel, say or don’t say… **Nothing** will ever change that.” The fingers that caressed Yoseob’s cheek were feather light. “It’s enough to simply have you back.”

He remembered Hyori’s words then, about the long centuries Doojoon had endured alone searching before choosing to sleep away the time until his human came back to him, and felt foolish for even thinking that the dragon had intended to send him away.

If simply having the bond blocked had sent him into a panicky tailspin, the idea of feeling it die entirely made him nauseous. To have to live through that…

Soft lips brushed against his forehead. “Don’t dwell on it. It’s not something that you’ll ever have to experience.”

“But you-”

“I have no intention of allowing it to happen again.”

“Lady Hyori said that it was illness…”

Doojoon looked pained, but nodded. “Yes.”

Though Yoseob wanted to know more, he could feel how very much Doojoon didn’t want to talk about it so he let the subject go, resting against Doojoon and letting his eyes slip closed. “Is it… Do all… well… that is…”

The change of subject worked, humor edging out the pain and sorrow as Doojoon guessed what his hemming and hawing was about. “Not all, but often it is inevitable.”

“Why?” As long as he kept his eyes closed, he could pretend Doojoon wasn’t admiring the bright rose colored flush on his skin.

“Dragon reproduction is a perfunctory thing. Females go into heat, her eggs get fertilized, no one really thinks much of it past that. It’s all continuation of the species. It is through our humans that we learn such things as love and pleasure, compassion and companionship. Most never have occasion or need to look at another being of any species for those emotions.” Doojoon didn’t seem to be aware that his fingers were slowly stroking over the bare skin of Yoseob’s sides as he spoke, but Yoseob was. He shivered slightly, but kept quiet about it. If he was honest with himself, Doojoon’s touch stirred him more than he’d ever imagined anyone’s ever could. He wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to be that honest with himself, though. “Humans already have the ability to love and the desire to be loved - even without a bond. But a bonded human lives the same lifespan as his bonded dragon. The attachments they form with unbonded humans don’t usually end well.”

Doojoon’s voice was clinical, but Yoseob could sense the pain under it again and he sighed softly. He hadn’t thought that asking about sex would send them tumbling right back into the sensitive subject.

His mind cast about for something else to say, something to distract the other with, but knowing as little as he did, it seemed he was doomed to continue blundering. Yoseob bit his lip. Maybe it would be best to talk about it, get it all out in the open sooner rather than having it lurk under the surface waiting for him to trip up at every turn.

The dragon shifted slightly, adjusting his position and Yoseob blushed again and rolled sideways so that he wasn’t straddling Doojoon any longer. He wasn’t comfortable with the idea of any mutual arousal and, inevitable or not, he wasn’t ready to deal with it just yet.

Rolling a little further, he settled onto his back beside Doojoon and opened his eyes to blink up at the ceiling above their heads. Yoseob stared at it for a long moment before glancing around, curiously.

“I thought I’d imagined that.”

“Hmm?” Doojoon followed his look up. “Oh… No.”

Yoseob curled his fingers into the soft furs that covered the bed they were laying in. He’d noticed before, obviously, when his knees had met their softness rather than the straw of Doojoon’s nest, but he’d been too distracted to really be curious. He pushed himself up so that he could get a better look around the room. “Where are we?”

“Home.”

The bed took up most of the small room pushed up against the corner and flush with two of the walls, but he could see a wooden and whicker dresser at the foot and a door just beyond that. The entire wall opposite the bed was taken up by a stone and plank bookshelf, though only a couple of the shelves seemed to actually be holding books. The rest were piled with odds and ends that Yoseob would have to explore further at some point.

Lines along the wall cast dim light into the room and he could only assume that the dragon’s system of lighting was standard for all of their dwellings.

Clambering out of the bed, Yoseob gave the rest of the room a cursory inspection before moving on. The door led into a cozy little room that obviously served as both living and cooking space. The entire cottage was small, but functional and comfortable. A smile tugged at his lips as he took in the open fire place and the two chairs pushed out from the table.

Everything was slightly antiquated, but looked to be in decent condition.

 _Home_.

The arms that settled around his shoulders didn’t startle him and Yoseob leaned back against Doojoon. “How did you find this place?”

Doojoon nuzzled his neck and smiled, a slightly bittersweet feeling passing from his heart to Yoseob’s. “We built it.”

“But I thought it was…” Yoseob bit his lip for a moment before deciding to press onwards. Hadn’t he already thought that getting it all out in the open would be better for them both? “Lady Hyori implied that you’ve been waiting for me to be reborn for hundreds of years….”

“Yes.” Doojoon’s arms tightened slightly. “I’m not sure how much time has passed as I’ve slept, but it was easily more than a hundred years before I stopped actively searching.”

Glancing back, Yoseob hesitated again. “It’s in awfully good condition to have been sitting around for a few centuries.”

“Well, it was built with as much magic as love and sweat. Your spells always were amazingly tenacious.”

“My -”

Doojoon continued over him with a shrug. “And my flight as been keeping an eye on it for us. I believe someone came by and stocked the larder in the last day or so. I smell fresh bread and meat.”

“Wait a minute-” Yoseob grabbed Doojoon’s arm before the dragon mage could pass him to move into the kitchen space. “ **My** spells??”

“Of course.” It was Doojoon’s turn to look confused. “You always had more minute control than I did…”

“That’s impossible. They tested me. I have like.. Zero talent for magic at all.” He made a face and sighed. “I guess we know one difference.”

Though he’d been afraid of the comparison, somehow he wasn’t surprised to find that he came out on the short end against his predecessor.

Doojoon cocked his head to one side and stared hard at Yoseob for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m not sure what tests you’ve done for who, but they were wrong.”

His hand reached out to press against Yoseob’s chest. “I can feel the magic coursing through your veins as surely as your blood.”

“But I’ve been tested more than once. I had to be, to be allowed to stay at the temple. All of the elders tested me. I can barely even feel the magic dragons use to shift between forms!”

“And yet, the power lies within you.” Doojoon smiled and reached for Yoseob’s hand, bringing the tattooed wrist up to his lips. Yoseob shivered slightly as contact with the mark seemed to send sparks racing up his arm. The dragon’s smile grew as he noticed the reaction, but he didn’t pursue it. “Perhaps it has also been hiding all this time.”

“But I don’t feel any more magical than I did before…”

Considering it for a moment, Doojoon shrugged, unconcerned. “I’ll teach you what I can, but I expect most of it will come back naturally.” He looked around for a moment and then continued. “Hey, what do you want for breakfast? I think there’s some eggs over here, too…. Hmmm… It’s been a while since I actually cooked. But it’s like flying, right? It’s mostly instinct and once you learn you never really forget. Oh! Do you think they thought to bring any fruit? It doesn’t really taste good on a dragon’s tongue, but like this-”

As he watched his companion move on, rambling as he explored what had been brought for them, Yoseob rubbed a finger over his bond mark and sighed. There was too much to deal with too soon. He was off balance and uncertain and he didn’t like that.

A rush of love and warmth came from Doojoon before he could spiral down any further into his thoughts and he refocused on the dragon with a soft smile.

At least he didn’t have to deal with any of it alone. That was enough to bolster his usually indomitable spirit back to normal and he hurried over to stop Doojoon from ruining their breakfast.

For the first time in his life, his heart was steady and he knew there was someone there to catch him before he stumbled. He wanted to enjoy that for a while. He wanted to bask in the warmth of their connection and the absolute certainty of love that underlaid everything Doojoon felt.

There would be time enough for them to deal with anything else later.

~*~*~

**Author's Note:**

> The dragon mythos in this story is a hodge podge collection of every dragon story I've ever heard mixed up with a lot of stuff that - to the best of my knowledge - I made up on my own. If little bits here and there remind you of other dragon stories, well, I won't be too surprised.


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